With superb singing, smart outfits and slick presentation, a group of Coleg Gwent students could almost be mistaken for the cast of hit US TV series Glee. The group of drama students recently formed a real-life show choir and have been hitting all the right notes in a national talent contest.
Coleg Gwent Performing Arts Lecturer Emma Hughes and her students are hoping to take their talent all the way to the O2 in London following successful auditions for a nationwide talent competition, Britain Does Variety. The group recently made it through to the regional finals to be held in front of a live audience in Newport’s Dolman Theatre on Saturday 12 March and hosted by TV presenter Dave Payne.
Gifted singer and Performing Arts Lecturer Emma enjoyed success as both a soloist and as the choir’s conductor in the contest. To top it off, Emma was also put through to the next round in a separate competition, A Voice for Wales, which aims to uncover the best Welsh singing talent in the country.
The Crosskeys Campus show choir, which is made up of around 20 drama students, performed Seasons of Love from the musical Rent in the variety competition, whilst their lecturer performed I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady.
“Being drama students the group didn’t really have that much singing experience, so I’m delighted with their success”, said Emma. “It was a different challenge and a way for them to build up some new skills. I’m very proud of them and excited about their performance in the regional finals.”
Drama student Brady Bowes, 16, from Newport said: “We didn’t have much time to practice for our performance, but we were really pleased that it came together so well. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the next round.”
